Pari-mutuel wagering apparatus and method

ABSTRACT

A handheld device in communication with a tote board of at a pari-mutuel wagering event receives data concerning the competitive entries and the odds associated with each entry. For each event, a total bet is determined and a subset of entries picked for which the total bet is to be allocated among. A computation is made as to the allocation based on the current odds of each entry and the desired rate of return on the total bet if any of the selected entries wins. The bet and entry data is then uploaded to the tote board at which it is accepted and entered.

RELATED APPLICATION DATA

The present application is a continuation-in-part of entitled to thebenefit of and claims priority from the commonly owned, United Statesapplication for patent having at least one inventor in common herewithentitled “Pari-mutuel Wagering System,” application Ser. No. 11/817,161,filed Aug. 27, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,137,175, issued Mar. 20, 2012,which is a national stage application under 35 U.S.C. §371 of PatentCooperation Treaty Application No. PCT/US2006/007089, filed Feb. 27,2006, which is a non-provisional of United States Application forProvisional Patent, Application No. 60/656,214, filed Feb. 25, 2005, thespecification of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In many games in which contestants compete against each other, a playerobserves an initial state of the game and, based upon the rules of thegame and possible other subjective and objective criteria, makes adetermination as to what the player believes will be, at least in part,the final state of the game which will indicate a winner or a finishingorder of its contestants. For example, the player first analyzes varioussubjective and objective criteria in a race among various competingentries; selects what the player believes will be the overall winner orthe final order of some or all of the entries.

In particular, in horse racing a bettor may place bets on one or morehorses in any race wherein each horse has betting odds associatedtherewith. The odds determine the amount of money to be returned to thebettor per unit amount bet should such horse win the race. Typically,the bettor refers to a racing sheet to obtain subjective and objectiveinformation about each horse in the race to assist in the selection ofbets. Selection of bets in any one race may include bets on each of longand short odds to minimize risk and maximize gain.

In the prior co-pending application referenced above, there aredisclosed algorithms which the bettor may utilize to allocate, within amaximum bet total, such portions of that total among several entries ina single race so that is any one of the entries win a predetermined rateof return will be realized. Reference is made therein that thealgorithms may be embedded in a calculating device. The presentdisclosure is directed to a specific implementation of such a devicewhich may be used by a bettor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a pari-mutuel wagering method andapparatus that enables a bettor to determine specific amounts to bet oneach of several entries in a race in accordance with specificpredetermined criteria, such as total amount to be bet and consistencyof profit should any of the selected entries win. In accordance with thepresent invention, a handheld device in communication with a tote boardof at a pari-mutuel wagering event receives data concerning thecompetitive entries and the odds associated with each entry. For eachevent, a total bet is determined and a subset of entries picked forwhich the total bet is to be allocated among. A computation is made asto the allocation based on the current odds of each entry and thedesired rate of return on the total bet if any of the selected entrieswins. The bet and entry data is then uploaded to the tote board at whichit is accepted and entered.

Further advantages and features of the present wagering method includethe capability of adding and/or subtracting or otherwise changing theidentities of the entries to be bet upon, and/or the odds of each entrywinning to arrive at the desired profit margin. Additionally, thepresent wagering method is adapted to indicate that particular bet orset of bets should not be made if a predetermined minimum profit cannotbe realized with the prospective bet or set of bets.

These and other objects, advantages and features of the presentinvention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art froma study of the following Description of the Exemplary PreferredEmbodiments when read in conjunction with the attached Drawing andappended Claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a network system incorporating ahandheld device constructed according to the principles of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the handheld device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of an exemplary improved method implemented bycode when executed in the handheld device of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a timeline relating to the method of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown an exemplary system 10 in whicha handheld user device 12, which is constructed according to the hereinafter described principles of the present invention, may communicatewith a tote board 14. The handheld device 12 may preferably be adedicated device designed for portability and use anywhere capability,but as described below a dedicated user device, such as handheld device12, is not necessary to practice the methods of present invention.

Exemplarily, the communication between the handheld device 12 and thetote board 14 may be established over any known wireless protocol. Whenthe handheld device 12 is in direct communication with the tote board14, the exemplary scenario is that the user of the handheld device ispresent at an establishment, such as a track or off-site bettinglocation, at which the tote board is located.

It is also contemplated that the handheld device 12 may be used remotelyfrom any such establishment and be in communication, not only with thetote board 14, but also with one or more additional tote boards 14_(x-n). In this scenario, the handheld device 12 and the additional toteboards 14 _(x-n) are in network communication over a network 16,exemplarily the internet. Furthermore, the handheld device may also bein either wireless or network communication with the tote board 14simultaneously with the additional tote boards 14 _(x-n). Thedescription herein below as it relates to the tote board 14 is assumedto also apply equally to the additional tote boards 14 _(x-n).

With further reference to FIG. 2, the handheld device 12 includes amicroprocessor 18, firmware 20, user interface controller 22, a graphicdisplay 24, a user keypad 26 and a communications controller 28. Thedisplay 24 may be a conventional LCD screen providing a graphic userinterface with user input data being entered at the user keypad 26 withconventional keys or membranes. Alternatively, the display 24 may alsobe touch enabled LCD screen such that the user keypad 26 appears as agraphic in the display 24. In either event, the user interfacecontroller 22 in communication with the processor 18 provides thenecessary drivers for either type of user interface.

In addition to a conventional operating system, the firmware 20 mayinclude a software application (APP), the code of which when executedimplements a process described in further detail herein below. Asdescribed herein, the APP is an application registered with theoperating system of the handheld device 12. It is to be understood thatthe APP may also exist as a standalone application, which may also beinstalled on any type of user device as described in the priorityapplication referenced above. Accordingly, the present invention is notto be limited in scope to a dedicated special purpose user device, suchas the handheld device 12, but may be any device which executesapplication code to implement a process within the scope of the presentinvention.

The communications controller 28 negotiates known protocols forestablishing wireless communications with the network 16, or protocolsfor direct wireless communication with the tote board 14. Irrespectiveof the whether the tote board 14 is to be accessed directly throughwireless communications or through the network 18, published public andproprietary protocols relating to data formats, credentials and the likeare negotiated to provide proprietary data to the handheld device 12upon bidirectional communications being established therewith. Thecommunications controller 28 when connected to a tote board 14 remainsin communication therewith such that any change of data at the toteboard 14 is downloaded to the user device 12 without any userintervention.

Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown a flowchart 30 illustrative ofan exemplary embodiment of an improved method implemented by the APPwhen executed in the handheld device 12. Once the APP is installed inthe in the handheld device 12, it may be launched, as indicated at 32,by user input conventionally enabled through the above described userinterface.

As indicated at 34, upon the APP being launched, the APP initiates theprocess of negotiating the installed communications protocols throughthe communications controller 28 to connect with any active tote board14 which is found locally or in the network 16. Upon any such connectionbeing established, the event data published by each active tote board 14is downloaded to the handheld device 12. The data published by eachactive tote board 14 is streamed into the handheld device 12 via a setof standardized requests, called application programming interfaces(API), that have been defined for the APP. The APP and the tote board 14communicate to each other without any need for user knowledge orintervention as the API of the underlying operating system performsbasic functions such as accessing the file system and pertinent datathat is entered from the database of the tote board 14 into the handhelddevice 12. Such data from each tote board 14 includes a listing of oneor more events, a listing of each competitive entry in each event, andother data as pertinent to each listing such as odds for eachcompetitive entry. Such data may also include other information as maybe typically provided by tote boards.

Once the event data from all of the active tote boards 14 that have beenfound is downloaded to the handheld device 12, a decision is made,indicated at 36, whether data form one or multiple boards 14 has beendownloaded. If the decision is YES, the list of the active tote boards14 and the event(s) presently available for wagering at each tote board14 is presented through the user interface. One or more of the toteboards 14 may then be selected through the user interface. Otherwise, ifthe decision is NO since only one tote board 14 has been found, then theselection of this tote board 14 is made by default.

If more than one tote board 14 is selected, each of the followingdescribed steps of this flowchart 30 may be performed as a parallel, butnot in lock step, process with respect to each selected tote board 14.For example, the user interface may provided for switching between thedisplayed information for each active tote board 14, or may present thedata for multiple tote boards 14 simultaneously on the display 24.

With further reference to FIG. 4, the selection of any tote board 14begins a process which occurs at a time, t₀, respective to the selectedtote board 14. Once the tote board 14 has been selected, whether throughthe user interface or by default, a total monetary amount of a wager orbet, which is selected to be put at risk for the active event, isentered through the user interface, as indicated at 40. Next, asindicated at 42, a subset of all the competing entries in the selectedevent, over which subset the total bet is to be allocated, is selected.Exemplarily, in an event with N total entries, the subset is any numberx wherein 1<x≦N.

Upon the total bet, B_(T), on the event having been entered and theentries for such event having been selected, a portion of the totalamount of the bet, B_(x), to be allocated to or placed on the x^(th)entry in the event is computed, as indicated at 44. This computation ismade in accordance with the formula

$\begin{matrix}{B_{x} = {{B_{T} \times \frac{{OD}_{x}}{S_{OD}}} + \Delta}} & \left( {{Eq}.\mspace{14mu} 1} \right)\end{matrix}$

in which

${B_{T} = {\sum\limits_{1}^{x}B_{x}}};$

and in which

${OD}_{x} = \frac{1}{O_{x} + 1}$

wherein O_(x) is equal to the odds on the x^(th) entry in the contest,and further in which

$S_{OD} = {\overset{x}{\sum\limits_{1}}{{OD}_{x}.}}$

In the algorithm of Eq. 1, the term Δ is automatically computed suchthat B_(x) is rounded to the nearest whole integer. The odds, O_(x), arethe most current odds streamed to the device via the API.

Continuing with the procedures being described at 44, the percentprofit, P_(x), to be realized in the event the x^(th) entry with oddsO_(x) in the contest wins is computed in accordance with the formula

$\begin{matrix}{P_{x} = {\frac{\frac{B_{x}}{{OD}_{x}} - B_{T}}{B_{T}} \times 100{\%.}}} & \left( {{Eq}.\mspace{14mu} 2} \right)\end{matrix}$

Upon completion of the computations of Eq. 1 and Eq. 2, the results ofthe computations are presented on the display 24.

Next, as indicated at 46, each P_(x) is satisfies a condition such asbeing compared to a predetermined criterion, which may either beselectively entered through the user interface, embedded in the firmwareof the APP, or both. An example of a selectively entered criterion maybe a minimum percent profit, P_(x) to be realized from placing the totalamount of the bet, B_(T), in the currently selected event. In somesituations, this predetermined profit, P, may be the same irrespectiveof which of the x^(th) entry in the contest is the ultimate winner, theneffectively P_(x)=P. Using this example the determination may then bemade whether the profit P_(x) compares favorably, e.g., greater than, orunfavorably, e.g., less than, the predetermined profit, P.

Continuing with this example, if the comparison is unfavorable, the NOpath is taken, and the bet and entry data inputted through the userinterface may be cleared, by default or through intervention at the userinterface, as indicated at 48, and the calculation of the portion of theamount to be wagered on each entry halted. If the data is to be clearedthrough intervention at the user interface, then it may be preferablethat no further action be taken in the process until such interventionoccurs. In either event, process reiteratively resumes allowing re-entryof either the total bet at 40, or the selection of entries at 42, orboth.

Otherwise, if the comparison is favorable in this example, the YES pathis taken and a determination is made whether the odds, O_(x), on any ofthe selected entries have changed, as indicated 50. In pari-mutuelwagering, the odds are continuously changing in accordance with the betsbeing placed on each, and these odds are continuously being streamedfrom the active tote board 14 with which the handheld device 12 is incommunication. If the odds have changed since the last computation ofEq. 1 and Eq. 2, the YES path is taken to reiterate the calculation ofthe Eq. 1 and Eq. 2 at 44 and the decision at 46, as above described.

During this reiteration, the decision taken at 46 may now be unfavorablewith respect to the predetermined profit, as described above, resultingin the bet and entry data being cleared at 48, as described above.Moreover, additional criteria may be evaluated at 48, as described inthe priority application above referenced.

If there has not been any change of odds since the last computation ofEq. 1 and Eq. 2, the NO path is taken, and several actions may be takenthrough the user interface of the handheld device 12 as follows. Theentries of the selected event may be changed, as indicated at 52, or thetotal bet may be changed, as indicated at 54. If the user interfacedetects that a change of entries has been made at 52, process reiteratesback to the selection of entries at 42, whereat the odds for the newentries are used for the computation of Eq. 1 and Eq. 2 at 44.Similarly, if the user interface detects that a change of the total bethas been made, process reiterates back to the entry of the total bet at40, whereat the computation of Eq. 1 and Eq. 2 at 44 is reiterated withor without any further change in the entries.

All of the above described processes, decisions and reiterations as suchmay occur between the initial entry of the total bet at 40 and the userinterface not detecting any change of entries at 52 or change of bet at54, occurs within a continuous timeline indicated by t_(x) in FIG. 4.Furthermore, the APP is continuously monitoring for any transmissionthrough the API for the active tote board 14 for which the currentprocess is running, to determine if a cutoff time or a countdown to suchcutoff time, t_(1-n), after which wagering is closed prior to the startof the event at time, t₁, has been sent to the handheld device 12, asindicated at 56. As long as the decision at 56 remains negative, at anytime during the time t_(x) in which there has not been any change ofodds, entries or total bets resulting in reiterations of the forgoingprocess, the APP may detect that a decision to place the current bet onthe current entries has been positively made through the user interface,as indicated at 58.

Alternatively, as the decision at 56 remains negative, the user of thehandheld device 12 may, as indicated by the NO path at 60, allow thecurrent process for the active tote board 14 to reiterate monitoring forchanges at the odds data at 50, or user interface changes to the entriesat 52 or the bet at 54. Otherwise, the user may, as indicated by the YESpath at 60, desire to run the process on a different selected event atanother active tote board 14. In the latter case, the process for eachtote board 14 runs simultaneously with the user interface allowingswitching between them.

If the App detects a positive decision at 58 to place the current bet onthe selected entries, the APP through the API and communicationscontroller 28 transmits the bet and entry data to the active tote board14, as indicated at 62. The active tote board may respond, as indicatedat 64, with confirmation that the data has been received, accepted andthe bets on each entry entered.

After such confirmation has been received, the user interface maydetect, as indicated at 66, that as selection to another event for thesame or another tote board being made through the user interface, thustaking the YES path to begin a new process at 38. Otherwise, the NO pathmay be taken and the APP exited, as indicated at 68, at user discretion.

Returning to the decision at 56, if the time, t_(1-n), is positivelyindicated as a notice of an imminent cutoff time, the process flow warnsthrough the user interface that the current bets on the selected entriesmust be placed pausing the process and waiting for an indication throughthe user interface of the decision to be made at 58. If the bet is to beplace, the bet is placed as described above at 62. Otherwise, if the betis not to be placed, the process may return to a selection to be made at38 of other events at the same or other tote boards.

There has been described hereinabove novel apparatus and method forpari-mutuel wagering. Those skilled in the art may now make numeroususes of, and departures from, the hereinabove described embodimentswithout departing from the inventive principles disclosed herein.Accordingly, the present invention is to be defined solely by thelawfully permissible scope of the appended Claims.

1. An apparatus for a competitive pari-mutuel wagering event in which aplurality of entries compete against each other in the event and furtherin which each of the entries has respective odds associated therewithwherein the odds for each of the entries is electronically published andfurther wherein the odds for any one of the entries is subject to beingchanged prior to commencement of the event, the apparatus comprising: acommunications controller in bidirectional communications with the toteboard and operative to receive continuously remote tote board data foreach respective one of the entries in the event in which the data foreach respective one of the entries includes at least listing of eachrespective one of the entries and the current odds associated with eachrespective one of the entries; a user interface operative to receiveuser input data wherein the user data includes at least a selection ofat least two of the entries in the event and a total monetary amount tobe wagered in the event and to display data visually; and a processormodule responsive to receipt of the user input data and the tote boarddata and operative to calculate a portion of the total monetary amountto be wagered on each entry in accordance with the current odds for eachentry and a predetermined criterion and further responsive to a changein tote board data respecting a change of the current odds for any oneof the entries and further operative to recalculate the portion of thetotal monetary amount to be wagered on each entry prior to thecommencement of the event, the user interface displaying such portionfor each one of the entries; wherein the processor module is furtherresponsive to input at the user interface indicating that the currentportion of the total monetary amount to be wagered on each entry is tobe sent to the tote board to be placed as a wager on each entry andoperative to send through the communications controller the wager oneach entry.
 2. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein theprocessor module is further operative to clear user input data and tohalt further calculation of the portion of the total monetary amount tobe wagered in the event a condition of the predetermined criterion isnot satisfied until user input data is re-entered at the user interface.3. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the processor module isfurther operative to halt further calculation of the portion of thetotal monetary amount to be wagered in the event a condition of thepredetermined criterion is not satisfied until user input data iscleared and re-entered at the user interface.
 4. An apparatus as setforth in claim 1 wherein the processor module in response to a receiptof notification of a cutoff time from the tote board is operative torequire a decision to be made at the user interface to transmit theportion of the total monetary amount to be wagered for each entry to betransmitted to the tote board.
 5. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1wherein the processor module in response to a receipt from the toteboard of confirmation of the wager on each entry being placed isoperative to display such confirmation at the user interface.
 6. Anapparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the processor modulecalculates the portion of the total monetary amount to be wagered foreach entry in accordance with the formula$B_{x} = {{B_{T} \times \frac{{OD}_{x}}{S_{OD}}} + \Delta}$ whereinB_(x) is the amount to be place on the x^(th) one of the entries in therace, B_(T) is the total monetary amount such that${B_{T} = {\sum\limits_{1}^{x}B_{x}}},$ wherein${OD}_{x} = \frac{1}{O_{x} + 1}$ and O_(x) is equal to the current oddson the x^(th) entry in the contest, and further wherein$S_{OD} = {\sum\limits_{1}^{x}{{OD}_{x}.}}$
 7. An apparatus as setforth in claim 5 wherein the predetermined criterion is percent profit,P_(x), to be realized in the event the x^(th) entry with odds O_(x) inthe event wins computed in accordance with the formula$P_{x} = {\frac{\frac{B_{x}}{{OD}_{x}} - B_{T}}{B_{T}} \times 100{\%.}}$8. A method for a competitive pari-mutuel wagering event in which aplurality of entries compete against each other in the event and furtherin which each of the entries has respective odds associated therewithwherein the odds for each of the entries is electronically published andfurther wherein the odds for any one of the entries is subject to beingchanged prior to commencement of the event, the apparatus comprising thesteps of: receiving continuously remote tote board data for eachrespective one of the entries in the event in which the data for eachrespective one of the entries includes at least listing of eachrespective one of the entries and the current odds associated with eachrespective one of the entries; calculating in response to receipt of theuser input data and the tote board data a portion of the total monetaryamount to be wagered on each entry in accordance with the current oddsfor each entry and a predetermined criterion and further recalculatingin response to a change in tote board data respecting a change of thecurrent odds for any one of the entries the portion of the totalmonetary amount to be wagered on each entry prior to the commencement ofthe event; and selectively transmitting to the tote board datarespecting the portion of the total monetary amount to be wagered oneach entry as an wager to be placed on each entry.
 9. A method as setforth in claim 8 further comprising the steps of: clearing user inputdata; and halting further calculation of the portion of the totalmonetary amount to be wagered in the event a condition of thepredetermined criterion is not satisfied until user input data isre-entered at the user interface.
 10. A method as set forth in claim 8further comprising the steps of halting further calculation of theportion of the total monetary amount to be wagered in the event acondition of the predetermined criterion is not satisfied until userinput data is cleared and re-entered at the user interface.
 11. A methodas set forth in claim 8 further comprising the steps of requiring adecision to be made at the user interface to transmit the portion of thetotal monetary amount to be wagered for each entry to be transmitted tothe tote board in response to a receipt of notification of a cutoff timefrom the tote board.
 12. A method as set forth in claim 8 furthercomprising the steps of displaying confirmation at the user interface ofreceipt from the tote board of confirmation of the wager on each entrybeing placed.
 13. A method as set forth in claim 8 wherein thecalculating step is performed in accordance with the formula$B_{x} = {{B_{T} \times \frac{{OD}_{x}}{S_{OD}}} + \Delta}$ whereinB_(x) is the amount to be place on the x^(th) one of the entries in therace, B_(T) is the total monetary amount such that${B_{T} = {\sum\limits_{1}^{x}B_{x}}},$ wherein${OD}_{x} = \frac{1}{O_{x} + 1}$ and O_(x) is equal to the current oddson the x^(th) entry in the contest, and further wherein$S_{OD} = {\sum\limits_{1}^{x}{{OD}_{x}.}}$
 14. A method as set forthin claim 13 wherein the predetermined criterion is percent profit,P_(x), to be realized in the event the x^(th) entry with odds O_(x) inthe event wins computed in accordance with the formula$P_{x} = {\frac{\frac{B_{x}}{{OD}_{x}} - B_{T}}{B_{T}} \times 100{\%.}}$